A day after the SIT officers found themselves in dock in Kotkhai gang rape case, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh on Friday asked them to file their personal affidavits. For the purpose, they have been granted a week’s time.
The development is significant as it indicates the seriousness of allegations against the cops. A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma had directed all the members of SIT constituted by the Himachal Pradesh government to probe the Kotkhai gang rape. The officers in SIT include Inspector General of Police, Z H Zaidi, the then ASP Shimla Bhajan Dev Negi, DSP Rattan Singh Negi, DSP Theog Manoj Joshi and SHO Kotkhai Rajinder Singh etc.
Having taken the second status report filed by CBI on record, the High Court on Thursday had directed the cops involved in SIT to give a personal appearance before the court. High Court had also debarred the member officers of SIT from taking legal assistance from the State’s legal mechanism i.e., the Advocate General office.
The court’s summoning of the officers in court after going through the second status report on investigation of Kotkhai gang rape and murder case, indicate that the second status report filed by the CBI had some mention of the officers.
The SIT officers on Friday appeared in court with Satyan Vaidya as their joint counsel. Implicating all the SIT members as party in the PIl under consideration of the High Court, the Division Bench had just yesterday summoned the officers in court.
Taking up the matter, the High Court directed all the officers to file their personal affidavits in the matter in sealed covers in the court within a week. Though, the High Court had, on Thursday, granted two weeks time to CBI for concluding its probe, the Bench adjourning the matter forAugust 24, ordered the officers to submit their affidavits before next date.
The SIT headed by IG Zaidi had conducted probe in the Kotkhai gang rape from July 11 to July 19, the day when state government ordered for referring the probe to CBI.